History Main / SpeciesSpecificAfterlife

* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrolls'': If your soul is not claimed by one of the Deadric Princes then which afterlife you go to seems to be at least partially determined by what race you are. The afterlife for Nords is called Sovngarde, though it is implied that other races can go there if it is the afterlife they prefer.

-->-- ''Creator/CSLewis, ''The Problem of Pain

* ''Comicbook/TheSimpsons'': Dog Heaven is revealed to also be Cat Hell. And Mr. Burns ends up going there after he dies.

** Still another strip shows [[UsefulNotes/KentuckyFriedChicken Colonel Sanders]] arriving in the afterlife, only to have an OhCrap moment upon seeing [[FluffyCloudHeaven the pearly gates]] indicating that heaven is run by chickens.

* In ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' only human souls go to heaven or hell. Monsters (vampires, wendigos, etc) go to purgatory when killed. Angels if killed go to the Empty, a void beyond even Death and God's control.
* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS3E84TheHunt The Hunt]]", the angel at the gateway to heaven says dogs cannot enter heaven, as they have their own place "just up the road". The old man decides [[YouAreWorthHell he'd rather wander for eternity than enter heaven without his dog]]. [[spoiler:A good decision, because it's not actually heaven but the devil trying to trick the man into hell and trying to get rid of the dog because the pooch would smell the brimstone. Averted with the actual heaven a real angel leads them to, in which all are more than welcome.]]

* ''WebAnimation/ShadowstonePark'' mentions this a few times; Gloves the horse wonders if he'll be sent to horse hell for stealing oats, and Darius the owl admits that he's probably going to owl hell for collecting the skulls of other animals (he isn't a killer, just a massive skull pervert).

** Downplayed by the Dwarves, whose souls are subject to slightly different rules when deciding which afterlife they will end up in because of a bet between the Dwarven gods Thor, Loki and Hel. An honorable death earns them a place in the Outer Plane which matches their alignment, the same as other sentient species, but a dishonorable death causes their soul to become Hel's property.

* ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'': The site has numerous stories depicting possible afterlives for humans. And then there's [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-1557 SCP-1557]], which is a version of Hell specifically for giraffes. [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-2731 SCP-2731]] is a hole in the floor of a grocery store in Carolina that leads into a Hell for [[spoiler: ice cream.]]
* ''Series/TheWeather'': PlayedWith; Apparently, dogs do go to Heaven with humans...but aren't ''actually'' allowed there. Thus, they remain dead in Heaven, even as their deceased owners are alive.

In a lot of stories, unless they operate on TheNothingAfterDeath, deceased characters will end up in an afterlife. There's a lot of options with this; It could be {{Heaven}} and {{Hell}}, could be a PersonalizedAfterlife, or even just a MundaneAfterlife; some will have to greet TheFerryMan, while others may take a ride on the AfterlifeExpress. However, there seems to be a common theme to these afterlives, and that's the exclusion of other species.

There are many possible reasons for this. Maybe humans are the only species with souls who can ascend to Heaven (or descend to Hell) upon death, while other animals simply die. Maybe each afterlife is simply tailored to each species. Sometimes it's a case of regular humans and magical races, where the magical races have their own part of the afterlife contrasting the more mundane human afterlife. They may even share the same plane, and just be inhabiting different sections, while being able cross through any of them.

Note that to fit this trope these afterlives have to be confirmed or at least heavily implied to only serve one species. Simply not seeing any animals in a Heaven / Hell scene isn't sufficient, as they may simply be kept out for reasons of practicality or relevance, rather than any in-universe reason.

* In ''WesternAnimation/AllDogsGoToHeaven'', Charlie ends up in Dog-Heaven after Carface has him killed. There he learns that despite his rather unsavory life, he finds his place in Heaven regardless because unlike humans, dogs are naturally good. With that said, Dog-Hell does indeed exist, the only way Dogs really could go to Dog-Hell is if they sell their souls to Red, a cat-like [[SatanicArchetype Satan Expy]], rewinding the clock that represents their time on Earth and then dying a second time (Charlie earning his place back there with a HeroicSacrifice), or when Red nearly succeeds in imprisoning all of the dogs in Dog-Heaven using the Horn of Gabriel.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfMarkTwain'', Captain Stormfield arrives in the wrong heaven intended for an alien species. Its basically a loud, hedonistic nightclub, far too intense for a Christian man from the early 20th century.

* In ''Literature/BeautifulJoe's Paradise'', upon death animals go to a land where they wait for their owners and help each other recover from mistreatment they encountered in life. Later, they may go into heaven by a balloon.

* ''Literature/RainbowBridge'' is this in purgatory form. The original narrative comes from the 1980s or 1990s but the exact author is unknown. The 1990s poem was adapted from the original story by a couple who ran a ferret rescue.[[note]]It has its own The Other Wiki [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_Bridge_(pets) entry]], talking about the probable authors and noting that the idea is a lot like Bifröst.[[/note]] The poem states that when a pet (normally a dog or cat) dies, it is transported to a meadow near heaven where they're in perfect health. After their owner dies, their owner is transported to the meadow and the two cross "rainbow bridge" into heaven together.

* Cynthia Rylant has a gentle take on the idea in ''Dog Heaven'' (infinite fields to run in, angel children to play with, all kinds of toys and treats, comfortable cloud beds) and ''Cat Heaven'' (fields, angel caretakers, toys and treats, God's big kitchen and garden. And hey -- they're ''cats'' -- they sleep on ''God's'' bed). Both dogs and cats are described visiting back to Earth to keep an eye on loved places and people.

* Cynthia Rylant has a gentle take on the idea in ''Dog Heaven'' (infinite fields to run in, angel children to play with, all kinds of toys and treats, comfortable cloud beds) and ''Cat Heaven'' (fields, angel caretakers, toys and treats, God's big kitchen and garden). Both dogs and cats are described visiting back to Earth to keep an eye on loved places and people.

* ''Literature/RainbowBridge'' is this in purgatory form. The original narrative comes from the 1980s or 1990s but the exact author is unknown. The 1990s poem was adapted from the original story by a couple who ran a ferret rescue.[[note]]It has its own TheOtherWiki [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_Bridge_(pets) entry]], talking about the probable authors and noting that the idea is a lot like Bifröst.[[/note]] The poem states that when a pet (normally a dog or cat) dies, it is transported to a meadow near heaven where they're in perfect health. After their owner dies, their owner is transported to the meadow and the two cross "rainbow bridge" into heaven together.

* In ''Literature/TheLittleMermaid'', humans are the only animals with souls. Mermaids cease to exist when they die. The titular mermaid is horrified by this. She finds out that mermaids can gain a soul (and thus have an afterlife) if they marry a human. As a result, the little memaid tries to marry a prince.
* ''Literature/RainbowBridge'' is this in purgatory form. The poem originates either from the 1980s or 1990s but the exact author is unknown. The poem states that when a pet (normally a dog or cat) dies, it is transported to a meadow near heaven where they're in perfect health. After their owner dies, their owner is transported to the meadow and the two cross "rainbow bridge" into heaven together.

* ''Discworld/FeetOfClay'': Parodied when we're told cattle believe in an afterlife, and that it involves horseradish somehow.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfMarkTwain'' Captain Stormfield arrives in the wrong heaven intended for an alien species. Its basically a loud, hedonistic nightclub, far too intense for a Christian man from the early 20th century.

Contrast AllAreEqualInDeath.

[[folder:WesternAnimation]]
* One of the famous cutaway gags from WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy shows Doggie Hell wherein the Devil torments dogs with a vacuum cleaner.

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* ''ComicBook/{{BPRD}}:'' One short story involves Johann Krauss being haunted by the ghosts of some frog monster [[EldritchAbomination Eldritch Abominations]]. He eventually solves the problem by leading them to the afterlife specifically for abominations--and he narrowly escapes getting sucked in there himself.
* In ''[[Comicbook/TheSimpsons Simpsons Comics]]'' Dog Heaven is revealed to also be Cat Hell. And Mr. Burns ends up going there after he dies.
* ''ComicBook/BeastsOfBurden'': The ghost sheep in "The View from the Hill" explain that this is why they don't move on; they don't want to be separated from their sheepdog companion, and from what they've heard from him, the dog afterlife is dogs-only.
-->'''Sheep:''' He's never mentioned any cats there, or sheep, or humans. Only dogs. When the end comes, and you leave this place…Won't you miss [[ACatInAGangOfDogs your friend]], if his path takes him somewhere else?

* In ''Fanfic/SliceOfHeaven'', most beings {{reincarnat|ion}}e, but a few especially good animals are allowed to escape from the cycle. They enter an animal-specific nirvana where they're given [[FunnyAnimal an anthropomorphic form]] and allowed to live separately with humans until they can get into heaven. Loki decides to wreck havoc by allowing a human into the animal purgatory.

* This is implied in ''Literature/WarriorCats''. The possible afterlives shown in the series, being [=StarClan=], The Tribe of Endless Hunting, and the Dark Forest, only show cat spirits inhabiting them. While hunting is possible in [=StarClan=] and the Tribe, it's unknown where the prey comes from. It's known that the boundaries between these afterlives are possible to cross between, making it likely that other animals inhabit their own afterlives and might be able to connect to the cats. It's shown that non-Clan cats don't get into [=StarClan=] (though Tallstar's kittypet friend Jake visits him sometimes). This is why Ravenpaw initially refused [=StarClan=] (because he couldn't be with his loner friend Barley, though it is mentioned that there's a place for both of them in [=StarClan=]).

* In one of Creator/CSLewis's non-fiction essays, he considers the possibility that animals have immortal souls, and wonders if giving them segregated afterlives would be the only way to keep different animals from tormenting each other. Then he cheekily notes that mosquito Heaven and human Hell might easily be the same place.
* ''Literature/{{Fablehaven}}'': While the subject of the afterlife is not extensively explored in the novels, the demon Graulas mentions in one book that "[[{{Hell}} certain circles]]" are appointed for receiving and punishing the souls of demons after death, implying that at least some magical creatures go to specific afterlives of their own after dying.
* In ''Literature/SeekerBears'' it's shown that different types of bears have different afterlives. Black bear spirits live in trees, grizzly bear spirits live in rivers and eventually wash out to sea when no-one living remembers them anymore, and polar bear spirits go under the ice and go into the sky to become stars in the summer when the ice melts.
* In ''Literature/TheLittleMermaid'', humans are the only animals with souls. Mermaids cease to exist when they die. The titular mermaid is horrified by this. She finds out that mermaids can gain a soul (and thus have an afterlife) if they marry a human. As a result, the little memaid tries to marry a prince.
* The concept of ''Literature/RainbowBridge'' is this in purgatory form. The poem originates either from the 1980s or 1990s but the exact author is unknown. The poem states that when a pet (normally a dog or cat) dies, it is transported to a meadow near heaven where they're in perfect health. After their owner dies, their owner is transported to the meadow and the two cross "rainbow bridge" into heaven together.
* In ''Literature/BeautifulJoe's Paradise'', upon death animals go to a land where they wait for their owners and help each other recover from mistreatment they encountered in life. Later, they may go into heaven by a balloon.
* Parodied in ''Discworld/FeetOfClay'', where we're told cattle believe in an afterlife, and that it involves horseradish somehow.

* VisualNovel/HatofulBoyfriend: The second game shows that birds spend their afterlife traveling around on the [[AfterlifeExpress Galactic Railroad]], slowly letting go of their memories. Once they have fully forgotten about their previous lives, they are reincarnated. Humans apparently take a different train.

* Mentioned a few times in the Creator/FilmCow series ''WebAnimation/ShadowstonePark''; Gloves the horse wonders if he'll be sent to horse hell for stealing oats, and Darius the owl admits that he's probably going to owl hell for collecting the skulls of other animals (he isn't a killer, just a massive skull pervert).

-->'''Sheep:''' When the end comes, and you leave this place…Won't you miss [[ACatInAGangOfDogs your friend]], if his path takes him somewhere else?

* In ''Literature/TheLittleMermaid'' humans are the only animals with souls. Mermaids cease to exist when they die. The titular mermaid is horrified by this. She finds out that mermaids can gain a soul (and thus have an afterlife) if they marry a human. As a result, the little memaid tries to marry a prince.

* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS3E84TheHunt The Hunt]]", dogs cannot enter heaven, as they have their own place "just up the road". The old man decides [[YouAreWorthHell he'd rather wander for eternity than enter heaven without his dog]]. [[spoiler:A good decision, because it's not actually heaven.]]

** This poses a problem for the children of rare human-elven couples: half-elves inevitably have to choose to be either full Men or full Elves, in order to determine which afterlife they are to be bound to. The cost of this is that human-elven families and couples are forever separated after death, with the exception of the lovers Beren and Lúthien -- Lúthien was an Elf, but chose to become mortal, die as a human woman and depart the world alongside Beren at her death.